Patent liability insurance
The patent liability insurance , including IP assurance (of English. Intellectual property) Intellectual property insurance , patent insurance , property right infringement Police or shortly patent liability is a form of property damage liability insurance against claims against the policyholder due to violation of property rights are asserted.
Most loss and liability, public liability , product liability and legal expenses insurance include insurance coverage for such damages is expressly disclaimed.
Property rights and property right violations
Industrial property rights (patents, utility models, designs and brands) are of great economic importance because they represent exclusive rights of use .
For innovative start-up companies , for example, a liability risk can be based on overlooking third-party property rights due to inadequate patent research , misjudging the property rights found or incorrectly assessing the scope of third-party property rights. The injured party can assert injunctive relief and claims for damages due to a patent infringement and the resulting financial loss .
Most often, property rights are infringed through trademark or product piracy. According to a survey published by the lobby organization Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft 2019, every tenth company from industry, construction and business-related services in Germany has been a victim of product and brand piracy at least once in the previous five years. The protection of one's own property right is part of the active legal protection of a patent liability insurance.
The defense against alleged license claims, so-called patent trolls, is also of practical importance .
Patent litigation
Patent disputes are usually lengthy and expensive. The plaintiff usually has to pay court costs directly when the lawsuit is filed. There are additional costs for expenses and lawyers. Also translations of complaints z. B. If the defendant comes from a non-German-speaking country, additional costs can result. When proceedings have ended, the unsuccessful party bears all costs. In the case of patent infringements, the amount in dispute can quickly reach higher amounts, for example EUR 500,000 or EUR 1 million. This means that the cost risk is around EUR 27,288 or EUR 40,452 in the first instance. In the second instance, the cost risk then increases by around EUR 35,603 or EUR 52,799. Before the BGH in the third instance, the costs then increase by EUR 46,786 and EUR 69,352. The total costs across all instances are then EUR 114,671 or EUR 169,918.
Scope of insurance and insurance costs
Patent liability insurance offers both passive legal protection and liability for financial losses . The passive legal protection covers the defense costs. In addition, liability protects you in the event that you yourself have infringed intellectual property and are confronted with license and claims for damages.
As a rule, patent liability insurance covers the following costs:
- Costs for defending against unjustified claims and possible actions for annulment
- Compensation for damages and contractual penalties
- Royalty after a settlement
- Callback and redemption costs
- Claims from declarations of release
No general statement can be made about the amount of the premium, as it depends on the size of the company, the number of property rights in the company, the industry and the market situation.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Christian Becker: Guest contribution: The three most important facts about patent liability insurance for start-ups March 26, 2018
- ^ Patent liability insurance deutsche versicherungsbörse.de, accessed on October 12, 2019
- ^ Infringements of property rights - Service portal Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Initiative New Social Martkwirtschaft: Germany's economic damage by counterfeiting and piracy. P. 4 , accessed on September 23, 2019 .
- ↑ Kathrin Werner: Patent Lawsuits: Fight the Trolls Süddeutsche Zeitung , 23 November 2015
- ↑ Process cost calculator. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
